Thus ‘a proper hermeneutic for interpreting the Apocalypse must give primacy to the symbolic nature of the text’.57 Interpreting the book’s symbolic visions in their literary, historical and theological contexts includes at least three key considerations.58 First, interpreters must determine if a symbol alludes to the Old Testament. Beale writes, ‘The OT and Judaism are the primary background against which to understand the images and ideas of the Apocalypse.’59 Indeed, scholars generally acknowledge